Creepiest, bleakest places you've ever been to

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entire state of New Jersey

Even the “nice” parts of NJ look like they need a good coat of paint.

NJ resident here. In true Jersey fashion, f*** off.

+1

NJ gets such a bad rap from people who have never been there.

I agree. Every fall I love to drive up 95 and accross the bridge then down along the Delaware to Bridgeton. Every town decorates for Halloween and there are Fall Festivals along the way. It's beautiful all the way to the point at Cape May.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the ny side of niagara falls.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was younger, I remember being scared of the buildings at Sheppard Pratt mental hospital in Towson, MD. They just looked old and creepy. I still live in the area and drove through the campus last week and loved the beautiful architecture. I guess age changes your perspective.

PP, for creepy factor, check out the abandoned Crownsville Hospital in Anne Arundel County. I drive by it frequently. Sometimes, there are vultures lined up on the edges of the buildings. Chills me to the core.

Vultures chill you and to the core. Some of these posts are just embarrasing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Olympic Peninsula- around Aberdeen, so not the side by Port Angeles (which is beautiful).

There were definitely parts of the Olympic Peninsula that were bleak. Like Forks, where they were trying to capitalize on the Twilight series.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious about the bleakness Cumberland MD. I drove through there on my way to school in the 90s. I thought it was so beautiful. It was always on my radar as a place to revisit.

I was one of the Cumberland posters. It's not so much about being bleak, it's that it has a super creepy vibe that I can't quite explain. Every time I have to drive that way, I can't wait to get through it as quickly as possible, like if I take too long or *shudder* stop somewhere, the town will just swallow me up.

There are very beautiful areas near Cumberland, which is why I drive through there semi-regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was younger, I remember being scared of the buildings at Sheppard Pratt mental hospital in Towson, MD. They just looked old and creepy. I still live in the area and drove through the campus last week and loved the beautiful architecture. I guess age changes your perspective.

PP, for creepy factor, check out the abandoned Crownsville Hospital in Anne Arundel County. I drive by it frequently. Sometimes, there are vultures lined up on the edges of the buildings. Chills me to the core.

Vultures chill you and to the core. Some of these posts are just embarrasing.

You can't see why an abandoned asylum with vultures lined up on the edges of the roof, as if guarding the buildings, would feel creepy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious about the bleakness Cumberland MD. I drove through there on my way to school in the 90s. I thought it was so beautiful. It was always on my radar as a place to revisit.

I was one of the Cumberland posters. It's not so much about being bleak, it's that it has a super creepy vibe that I can't quite explain. Every time I have to drive that way, I can't wait to get through it as quickly as possible, like if I take too long or *shudder* stop somewhere, the town will just swallow me up.

There are very beautiful areas near Cumberland, which is why I drive through there semi-regularly.

DP. I think it is the juxtaposition of the pretty setting with the vibe of the town. When you approach it on the highway, it looks like such a pretty little town. One you are on the streets, it feels oddly vacant? ominous? There is something off.

[Anonymous]

I agree about Cumberland. We rove out that way on the way to Fallingwater in PA. It does look like a cute town but it looked a bit more than sleepy. It looks like the setting for a Stephen King novel.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of the “creepy” factor from places like Cumberland, and all those previously mentioned rust belt towns in NY, PA,OH, etc, is because there are so many remaining signs of what it used to be. These places, for a time, were booming little cities, full of people and life and culture. Because the economy passed them by, their structures were never torn down and replaced by newer architecture, so there a sad beauty in the crumbling remains. It’s like they’re locked into their once-prosperous time, but the rest of the world moved on.

I get a similar feeling from Harpers Ferry, but HF has other revenue streams bringing money into the area, which makes it interesting, but not bleak.

The people who still live in these towns, especially in the harder hit areas (remember- lots of these places still have nice areas where people live with good jobs and steady income), seem like they’ve been left behind, stayed at the party too long and are trapped.

[Anonymous]

Much of the Eastern Shore of Virginia gives me this feeling, but not in a bad way. It’s a beautiful area that feels like it’s from another time. Quite eerie. The bizarre feeling it leaves me with constantly draws me back to it. I hope to move there one day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of the “creepy” factor from places like Cumberland, and all those previously mentioned rust belt towns in NY, PA,OH, etc, is because there are so many remaining signs of what it used to be. These places, for a time, were booming little cities, full of people and life and culture. Because the economy passed them by, their structures were never torn down and replaced by newer architecture, so there a sad beauty in the crumbling remains. It’s like they’re locked into their once-prosperous time, but the rest of the world moved on.

I get a similar feeling from Harpers Ferry, but HF has other revenue streams bringing money into the area, which makes it interesting, but not bleak.

The people who still live in these towns, especially in the harder hit areas (remember- lots of these places still have nice areas where people live with good jobs and steady income), seem like they’ve been left behind, stayed at the party too long and are trapped.

Yes. You said it perfectly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Badlands gave me that bizarre feeling but I liked it. I wasn't expecting it to be so eerie but it's only because I knew nothing about it before going there.

I had the same feeling at the Badlands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entire state of New Jersey

Even the “nice” parts of NJ look like they need a good coat of paint.

NJ resident here. In true Jersey fashion, f*** off.

+1

NJ gets such a bad rap from people who have never been there.

I agree. Every fall I love to drive up 95 and accross the bridge then down along the Delaware to Bridgeton. Every town decorates for Halloween and there are Fall Festivals along the way. It's beautiful all the way to the point at Cape May.

Agree. New Jersey certainly has some rough areas, but until someone goes and sees the entire state, you really can’t criticize. I was shocked at how many charming and downright beautiful areas of the state there were when we went there for a friends wedding. One of the best kept secrets in the country is just how nice much of the state is I think.

[Anonymous]

Speaking of vultures I was in cuba before it got nicer/had more tourism...during the height of the communism years when it was closed off....so all the buildings were crumbling. Anyway, there was a big rainstorm and then afterward thousands of vultures came out and were like drying off their wings while sitting on buildings. It was crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of vultures I was in cuba before it got nicer/had more tourism...during the height of the communism years when it was closed off....so all the buildings were crumbling. Anyway, there was a big rainstorm and then afterward thousands of vultures came out and were like drying off their wings while sitting on buildings. It was crazy.

That must have been crazy. I posted about the Crownsville Hospital above. Your post made me look up information about turkey vultures (what I saw), and I learned that they like to nest in old abandoned buildings. I guess that explains their presence in huge numbers in the types of areas we are talking about.